Part 10

Of the Great Flying Squirrel M. de Vosmaër remarks, "that it has a great affinity to the smaller species described by M. de Buffon; they both have the same kind of membranes, with which they support themselves in the air when they leap from tree to tree." These animals were first mentioned by Valentine, who states them to be found in the island of Gilolo, where they are called _flying civets_; he describes them to have long tails, and says, when at rest their wings are not to be seen; that they are very wild and fearful; that their heads are reddish, intermixed with grey, that their membranes are covered with hair, their teeth so strong and sharp that they would soon escape from a wooden cage; that they are sometimes called _flying monkeys_; and that they are also to be met with in the island of Ternat, where they were at first mistaken for squirrels.

M. l'Abbé Prevost says, it is also found in the Philippine Islands, where it is called _taguan_; that he saw two females, the one at the Hague, whose body was a light chesnut, rather darker on the back, and black towards the extremity of the tail; and that he had also seen two males in the Prince of Orange's cabinet, which were one foot five inches long in the body, and their tails one foot eight. The hind part of their heads, back, and the commencement of the tail are covered with long hairs, black at the bottom, and of a greyish white at the ends; the other part of the tail is black, and the hair is so disposed as to make the tail have a round appearance, the cheeks are brown, and their throats, breasts, and bellies are of a whitish grey. The membranes are the thinnest in the middle where they are covered with chesnut hairs, increasing in thickness towards the paws, and the colour growing darker until it is nearly black at the extremities.

THE GREY SQUIRREL.

This animal is found in the northern parts of both continents. He is in shape like a common squirrel, and his external difference consists in his being larger, and the colour of his hair not being red, but of a grey more or less deep; his ears are not so hairy towards the extremity as those of our squirrels. These differences, which are constant, seem sufficient to constitute a particular species. Many authors think this species is different in Europe and America, and that the grey squirrels of the former are of the common kind, and that they change their colour with the season in the northern climates. Without denying absolutely this assertion, which does not seem sufficiently proved, we look upon the grey squirrel of Europe and America as the same animal, and as a distinct species from common squirrels, who are found in the northern parts of both continents, being of the same size, and of a red, more or less bright according to the temperature of the country.

At the same time, other squirrels of a larger size, whose hair is grey, or somewhat black, in all seasons, breed in the same latitude. Besides, the fur of the grey squirrel is more fine and soft than that of our squirrels; we are, therefore, authorised to believe that though very nearly alike, they ought to be distinguished as different species.

M. Regnard says affirmatively, that the grey squirrels of Lapland are the same animals as the French squirrels. This assertion is so positive that it would be satisfactory were it not contradicted by others; M. Regnard has written excellent dramatic pieces, but he did not give a sufficient application to Natural History, nor did he continue long enough in Lapland to see the squirrels change their colour. It is true that some naturalists, and among them Linnæus, have said, that in the north of Europe the hair of the squirrel changes colour in the winter. This may be true, for the hares, wolves, and weasels, also change their colour in those climates; but from red they grow white, not grey; and to give no other instance but that of the squirrel, Linnæus in the _Fauna Suecica_, says, _æstate ruber hieme incanus_, consequently from red he becomes white; and we do not see why this author should substitute for the word _incanus_ that of _cinereus_, which is found in the last edition of the _Systema Naturæ_. M. Klein asserts, on the contrary, that the squirrels in the vicinity of Dantzic, are red in the winter as well as in the summer, and that there are others frequently found in Poland grey and blackish, who do not change their colour any more than the red; these last also breed in Canada, and in all parts of North America, consequently we may consider the grey squirrel as an animal common to both continents, and of a different species from that of the common squirrel.

Besides, we do not perceive that the squirrels which are very frequent in our forests unite in troops; we do not see them travel in companies, approach the waters, nor cross rivers upon the bark of trees. Thus they differ from the grey squirrels, not only in size and colour but in natural habits; for although the navigations of the grey squirrels seem almost incredible, they are attested by so many witnesses that we cannot deny the fact.[AC]

[Footnote AC: The grey squirrels frequently remove their place of residence, and it not unoften happens that not one can be seen one winter where they were in multitudes the year before; they go in large bodies, and when they want to cross a lake or river, they seize a piece of the bark of a birch or lime, and drawing it to the edge of the water, get upon it, and trust themselves to the hazard of the wind and waves, erecting their tails to serve the purpose of sails; they sometimes form a fleet of three or four thousand, and if the wind proves too strong, a general shipwreck ensues, to the no small emolument of the Laplander who may fortunately find their bodies on the shore, as, if they have not lain too long, their furs will prepare in the usual manner; but if the winds are favourable they are certain to make their desired port. _Oeuvres de M. Regnard, tom. i. p. 163._]

Of all quadrupeds that are not domestic, the squirrel is, perhaps, the most subject to vary in shape and colour, and whose species has the greatest numbers of others that approach it. The white squirrel of Siberia seems to differ only in colour from our common squirrel. The black and the grey of America are, perhaps, only varieties of the grey squirrel. The squirrels of Barbary, Switzerland, and the palmist, are three species very much like each other.

We have very little information with regard to the grey squirrel. Fernandes says, that the grey or blackish squirrels of America dwell upon trees, particularly upon pines; that they feed upon fruits and seeds; that they provide provisions for the winter, and heap it up in some hollow tree, where they retire during that season, and where the female brings forth her young. The grey squirrel differs, then, from the others who make their nests at the tops of trees like birds, yet we do not pretend to affirm that the blackish squirrel, mentioned by Fernandes, is the same as the grey squirrel of Virginia, or that both of them are the same as the grey squirrel of Europe; we only think it is probable, as these three animals are nearly of the same size and colour, inhabit the same climates, are precisely of a similar form, and their skins being equally used in the furs, called the fur of the grey squirrel.

THE PALMIST, THE SQUIRRELS OF BARBARY AND SWITZERLAND.

The palmist is about the size of a rat, or a small squirrel; he lives upon the palm-trees, from which he takes his name. Some call him the palm-rat, and others the palm-tree squirrel; but as he is neither a rat nor a squirrel, we call him palmist. (_fig. 123._) His head is nearly the same form as that of the campagnol, and covered with rough hair. His long tail does not lie on the ground, like that of the rat, but he carries it erect vertically, without, however, throwing it down on his back like the squirrel; it is covered with hair longer than that of his body, but shorter than the hair of the tail of a squirrel. His back is variegated with white and brown stripes, which distinguish the palmist from all other animals, except the squirrels of Barbary and Switzerland. These three animals are so much alike, that Mr. Ray thought they made but one species; but if we consider that the palmist and the squirrel of Barbary, are only found in the warm climates of the ancient continent, and that the squirrel of Switzerland, described by Lister, Catesby, and Edwards, is only to be met with in the cold and temperate regions of the New World, we must judge them to be different species. By minute observation it is easy to perceive that the white and brown stripes of the Swiss are disposed differently from those of the palmist, whose white stripe extends all along the back, while it is black or brown in the Swiss; and this brown stripe in the latter is followed by a white stripe, in the same manner as the white stripe in the former is by a brown; besides, the palmist has but three white stripes, while the Swiss has four; he also brings down his tail on his back, which the palmist does not: the latter dwells upon trees, and the Swiss is an inhabitant of the earth; from which difference he is called the land squirrel. In fine, he is smaller than the palmist, consequently there can be no doubt of their being two different species.

As for the squirrel of Barbary, as he is of the same continent and climate, of the same size, and nearly the same form as the palmist, they might be considered as varieties of the same species; yet in comparing the description and figure of the squirrel of Barbary, given by Caius, and copied by Aldrovandus and Johnson, with the description given here of the palmist, and comparing afterwards the description and figure of the squirrel of Barbary, given by Edwards, it is easy to discern that they are different animals. We have seen them all in the king's cabinet. The squirrel of Barbary has the head and forehead more round, the ears longer, and the tail more bushy than the palmist; he is more like a squirrel than a rat, by the form of his head and body; and a palmist resembles more a rat than a squirrel. The squirrel of Barbary has four white stripes, and the palmist has no more than three; the white stripe is on the palmist's back bone, but that on the squirrel of Barbary is brown and red. These animals have very near the same habits and dispositions as the common squirrel. Like him they feed upon fruit, and use their fore paws in carrying it to the mouth; they have the same voice and cry, the same instinct, and agility; they are lively and tractable, easily tamed, and so fond of their habitations, that they never go out but on diversion, and return spontaneously to their residence. They are both of a pretty figure; their coats, which has white stripes, is more valuable than that of the squirrel; their size is shorter, their body lighter, and their motions equally quick. The palmist, and the squirrel of Barbary, dwell on trees like the common squirrel, but the Swiss lives upon the earth, and, like the field mouse, forms a retreat that the water cannot penetrate; he is also less docile and less gentle than the two others; he bites without mercy, except completely tamed, from which it appears he is more like a rat, or a field mouse, than a squirrel, by instinct and nature.

_Engraved for Barr's Buffon._

THE ANT EATERS.

South America produces three animals with a long snout, a small mouth, without teeth, and a large round tongue; with which they penetrate into the ants' nests, and draw them out again when covered with those insects, which are their principal food. The first of these ant-eaters is that which the Brasilians call Tamandua-Gaucu, or Great Tamandua, and to which the French settled in America have given the name of Tamanoir. This animal (_fig. 124._) is about four feet in length from the extremity of the muzzle to the origin of its tail; his head is fourteen or fifteen inches long, his muzzle stretches out to a great length; his tail is two feet and a half long, is covered with rough hair, more than a foot in length; his neck is short, his head narrow, his eyes black and small, his ears round, his tongue thin, more than two feet long, and which he folds up in his mouth. His legs are but one foot high; the fore-legs are a little higher, and more slender than those behind: he has round feet; the fore-feet are armed with four claws, the two middle ones are the longest; those behind have five claws. The hair of his tail and body are black and white. Upon the tail they are disposed in a bunch, which he turns up on his back, and covers with it his whole body, when he is inclined to sleep, or wants to shelter himself from the rain or heat of the sun. The long hair of his tail and of his body is not round in all its extent; it is flat towards the ends, and feels like dry grass. He waves his tail frequently and hastily when he is irritated, but it hangs down when he is composed, and sweeps along the ground. The hair of the fore-part of his body is longer than that on the hind part. On the neck and back it is somewhat erect, and towards the tail, and on the flanks, close to the skin; his fore-parts are variegated with white, and his hind-parts wholly black; he has also a white stripe on the breast, which extends on the sides of the body and terminates on the back near the thighs; his hind-legs are almost black, and the fore-legs almost white, with a large black spot towards the middle. The Great Ant-eater moves so slow that a man can easily overtake him in running; his feet seem less calculated to walk than to climb, and to fasten round bodies; for he holds so fast a branch, or a stick, that it is not possible to force it from him.

The second of these animals is called by the Americans only Tamandua; he is much smaller than the former, being not above eighteen inches from the extremities of the muzzle to the tail; his head is five inches long, his muzzle crooked, and long; his tail ten inches long, without hair at the end; his ears are erect, and about an inch long; his tongue is round, eight inches long, and placed in a sort of hollow canal within the lower jaw; his legs are not above four inches in height, his feet are of the same form, and have the same number of claws as the Great Ant-Eater. He climbs and holds fast a branch, or a stick, like the former, and his motions are equally slow. He cannot cover himself with his tail, the hair being short, and the end almost bare. When he sleeps he hides his head under his neck and fore-legs.

The third of these animals, the natives of Guiana call _ouatiriouaou_. He is still smaller than the second, being not above six or seven inches in length from the extremities of the snout to the tail; his head is two inches long; and his muzzle proportionally short; his tail is seven inches in length, the hair curls downwards, and it is bare at the end; his tongue is narrow, long, and flat; his neck is very short, his head big in proportion to the body; his eyes are placed low, and at a little distance from the corners of the mouth, his ears are small, and hidden by the hair; his legs are but three inches long, the fore-feet have only two claws, the outward of which is much thicker and longer than the inward; the hind feet have four claws, the hair of the body is about nine inches long; smooth, and of a shining colour, diversified with red and yellow, his feet are not made to walk, but to climb and to take hold of branches of trees, on which he hangs himself by the extremity of his tail.

We know of these kind of animals only the three species we have mentioned. M. Brisson, after Seba, speaks of a fourth species, under the denomination of the _long-eared ant-eater_, but we doubt its existence; because Seba has been guilty of more than one error in enumerating animals of this kind; he says expressly, "we preserve in our cabinet six species called ant-eaters," and yet he gave only a description of five; and amongst them he reckoned the _ysquiepatl_, or _mouffette_, an animal, not only of a species, but even of a genus, widely different from the ant-eaters, as he has teeth, and a flat short tongue, like other quadrupeds, and comes very near a kind of weasels or martens. Out of these six species, pretended to be preserved in the cabinet of Seba, four only remain, as the ysquiepatl, which he reckoned the fifth, is no ant-eater, and the sixth is not even mentioned, unless the author meant to comprehend among these animals the _Pangolin_ or scaly lizard, which he does not intimate in his description of that animal. The scaly lizard feeds upon ants; he has a long muzzle, a narrow mouth, without visible teeth, and the tongue round; characteristics which he has in common with ant-eaters; but he differs from it as well as from all other quadrupeds, by having the body covered with thick scales instead of hair. Besides, this animal belongs to the hottest climates of the old continent, and the ant-eaters, whose bodies are covered with hair, are found only in the southern parts of the new world. There are therefore no more than four species instead of six, mentioned by Seba, and out of these four there is but one species discernible by its description; which is our third or smallest ant-eater, to whom Seba allows but one claw to each foot, though he has two. The three others are so imperfectly described, that they cannot be traced to their true species. One may judge by this of the credit which Seba's voluminous book deserves. This animal which he calls _tamandua murmecophage_ of America, and the figure of which he has given[AD], cannot be compared with either of the three we are now treating of, it is sufficient to be convinced of his error by reading his description. The second which he terms _tamandua-guacu_ of Brasil, or the _bear ant-eater_, is described in a vague, equivocal manner; yet I am inclined to think with Klein and Linnæus, that he meant the true tamandua-guacu, or great ant-eater, but it is so badly described, and so imperfectly represented, that Linnæus has comprehended, under one species, the first and second of Seba's animals. M. Brisson considered the last as a particular species, but I do not believe his establishment of this species better founded than his criticism on M. Klein, for having confounded it with that of the great ant-eater. The only just reproach M. Klein has incurred, is to have added to the good description he has given of this animal, the erroneous indications of Seba. In fine, the third of these animals, whose figure is given in that work, is so badly described, that I cannot persuade myself, notwithstanding the respect I have for Linnæus and Brisson's authority, this animal from Seba's description and figure can be the middle ant-eater; I only wish that his description may be attended to in order to judge of its fallacy. These discussions, although tedious and disagreeable, cannot be avoided in the details of a Natural History. Before we write upon a subject very little known, we must, as much as possible, remove all obscurities, and point out the numberless errors before we can come to the truth. The result of this criticism is a proof that three species of ant-eaters really exist, namely the _tamanoir_, the _tamandua_, and the _ouatiriouaou_, and that the fourth called the _long-eared ant-eaters_, mentioned by M. Brisson, is doubtful, as well as the other species indicated by Seba. I have seen the first and last with their skins, in the king's cabinet; and they are certainly very different from each other. We have not seen the tamandua, but have described it, after Piso and Marcgrave, the only authors that ought to be consulted upon this animal, as all others have only copied them. The tamandua, and the small ant-eater have the extremities of their tails bare, with which they hang on the branches of trees, and when they perceive hollows, they put their tongues within, and draw them instantly back in their mouths, to swallow the insects which they have gathered.

[Footnote AD: Seba, tom. I, p. 60, tab. 37. fig. 2.]

These three animals, so different in size and proportions of the body, have many things in common, both as to conformation and instinct. All feed upon ants, and put their tongues into honey, and other liquid and viscous substances; they gather quickly crumbs of bread and small pieces of meat; they are easily tamed; they can subsist a long while without food; they do not swallow all the liquor which they take into their mouths, a part returning through their nostrils; they commonly sleep in the day-time, and change their station in the night; they go so slow that a man may overtake them easily whilst running in open ground. The savages eat their flesh, but which has an unsavoury taste.

The great ant-eater looks, at a distance, like a fox, and for that reason some travellers call him the American fox; he is strong enough to defend himself against a large dog, and even the jaguar. When attacked he at first fights standing on his hind legs, like the bear, and makes use of his fore claws, which are powerful weapons; afterwards he lies down on his back, and uses all four feet, and in that situation he is almost invincible, and fights with obstinacy till the last extremity; even after he has put to death his adversary he keeps hold of him a long while. He maintains the fight longer than most animals, from being covered with long bushy hair and a very thick skin, besides his flesh is remarkably hard, and he seldom loses his life in these engagements.

The three ant-eaters are natives of the hottest climates of America, are found in Brasil, Guiana, the country of the Amazons, &c. but they are not met with in Canada, or in the northern regions of the new world, they consequently do not belong to the ancient continent; yet Kolbe and Desmarchais have stated these animals to live in Africa, but they seem to have confounded the scaly lizard with the ant-eaters. Perhaps this mistake is in consequence of a passage of Marcgrave, who says: "_Tamandua-guacu Brasiliensibus, congensibus (ubi et frequens est) umbula dictus_;" but Marcgrave certainly never saw this animal in Africa, since he confesses that he had seen only his skin in America. Desmarchais only says that the great ant-eater is found in Africa as well as America, but he adds no circumstance to prove this fact. In regard to Kolbe's attestation, we reckon it nothing, for a man who has seen at the Cape of Good Hope, elks and lynxes, like those of Prussia, might also see the ant-eaters in the same climate. But they are not mentioned by any authors among the animals of Asia or Africa, while all the travellers, and most of the historians, of America, make a particular mention of them. De Lery, de Laët, Father d'Abbeville, Maffèe, Faber, Nieremberg, and M. de la Condamine, agree with Piso and Barrere, in declaring that the ant-eaters are peculiar to the warm countries of America; thus we cannot doubt that Desmarchais and Kolbe were mistaken, and that these three species of animals do not exist in the ancient continents.

SUPPLEMENT.

I have received from M. Maudhuit, residing at Guiana, an ant-eater in excellent condition, which appears to be of the same species as those just described, differing somewhat in the length of the muzzle and the toes.